Keeping Carnies Honest: Police Officer's Field Guide to Carnival Game Inspections

by Lindsay Smith, Bruce Walstad

This book will take you behind the counter into the fascinating (and often crooked) world of carnival games. You'll enjoy the police and carnival inspector's take on the games. 38 pages

Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Multiple authors with name Lindsay Smith.

Reviews

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect from Keeping Carnies Honest: Police Officer's Field Guide to Carnival Game Inspections, and I'm still not totally sure what I read. In a good way, mostly. Lindsay Smith mashes together genres like a kid dumping every candy into one bowl, and somehow it works, thanks to a main character who's just stubborn enough to hold it all together. The worldbuilding gets confusing, and I got lost around the middle. Pick it up if you like weird, ambitious stuff. Pass if you like your stories simple.

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick take: Keeping Carnies Honest is a breakneck action read that never lets you catch your breath. What worked: pacing that moves like a freight train and a villain with real menace. What didn't: the dialogue is stiff and the hero is a bit of a generic tough guy. Recommend for readers who want adrenaline on a long flight, skip for anyone who cares about nuance.